In June of 2017, we heard the words that no parent ever wants to hear: your child has cancer.

Oliver was our happy, chubby little 15 month old. He was our 4th child, and had made our family complete. His siblings doted on him, and we vowed to soak in every second of his baby years. Instead, in the middle of a family road trip, we found ourselves in a literal fight for his life.

Oliver was diagnosed with Stage IV, High Risk Neuroblastoma. It was a nasty diagnosis, with survival rates of less than 50%, and awful long term side effects for those lucky enough to make it through the treatment.

We moved our family 1,000 miles from home to get him the best treatment we could. He endured 9 rounds of chemo, a dozen surgeries (including a massive 27-hour resection in his abdomen), a bone marrow transplant, and more than 150 overnight stays in the hospital. On top of that were countless scans, needle pokes, infection scares, and hours upon hours of clinic days.

Through it all, Oliver amazed everyone around him with his perseverance. He kept getting knocked down, and he kept getting back up. Fighting cancer is an indescribable drain on a family, and we found ourselves counting on Oliver’s laughter to pull us through the roughest times. It was an unfair expectation of any toddler, much less one fighting for his life, but the burden never seemed to bother him. He carried us through it all. Our brave little guy fought valiantly, but it was never a fair fight.

On July 18, 2018, we lost our precious Ollie.

We decided that day that we would do whatever it takes to help other kids avoid the same fate. We are going to try to repay him for his strength, and carry his memory in the way he deserves. We are raising money to find cures, and to give hope to other kids that will face the same fight.

Please support me with a donation to Oliver’s Hero Fund at the St. Baldrick's Foundation. This volunteer-driven charity funds more in childhood cancer research grants than any organization except the U.S. government. Your gift will give hope to infants, children, teens and young adults fighting childhood cancers.